In order to become familiar with the community to be served, librarians need to research the demographics so that they are not only reaching out to library users, but also to all the individuals that live in the community. In this way, they are able to promote and provide programs and services that will hopefully draw in new patrons. Demographics may be obtained through the most current census statistics, school information, senior citizen centers, daycare facilities, and any other local organizations that provide services for all ages. Certain organizations, such as nursing homes and other facilities where people are home-bound, afford libraries the opportunity to offer community outreach.
Prior to conducting a community survey, we wanted to learn more about what the library has in place now in terms of instruction, services and programs. We conducted an interview with the librarian addressing the following questions:
We would begin by initiating small talk so that we could get to know each other a bit.
How long have you been in your current position?
Do you usually visit the neighboring schools or other facilities in the community? If so, are there any individuals that you could possibly refer me to?
Have you ever had a book or movie challenged by someone from the community? If so, how do you handle a situation like this?
An example of interview/internal librarian to librarian survey for a librarian serving a Cuban American population:
What sorts of materials does your library have specifically for the group of Cuban Americans?
Do you have a Spanish collection? If so, is it shelved in a separate section?
Does the library have partnerships with anyone who provides ESL instruction?
Are there ways that you reach out to the community members in an effort to provide services for patrons who do not regularly visit the library? If so, do they seem interested in these services?
Have you ever conducted a survey that asks patrons about which programs and services they may be interested in?
Do you offer basic computer skill instruction?
Have you ever considered having guest speakers who are Cuban Americans?
An example of a librarian to patron survey addressing the wants and needs of the Cuban American population:
Are there any particular materials or resources you would like to see added to the collection?
Do you feel that there are enough Spanish language materials at the library?
Would you take ESL classes if they were offered by the library?
What could the library do to facilitate easier access and use of its resources?
Are there any particular periodicals or newspapers specific to Cuban-Americans that you would like to see added?
Would you participate in cultural programming geared towards Cuban Americans? If so, what type of programming would you like to see?
Which area of our collection needs the most work to accommodate the needs of Cuban Americans? Adult fiction? Adult non-fiction? Young Adult? Children’s? Large Print?
Are there any electronic resources you would like to see added to the collection?
What could the library do to enhance cultural awareness of Cuban Americans by other ethnic groups?
How often do you use the library?
What resources or services do you use at the library?
Imagined Results:
Internal Librarian-to-Librarian Small Talk Imagined Results:
We imagine that the librarian will be within the first ten years of his/her library career. He/She will have both career goals and personal goals that will shape and inform his/her professional career decisions. We also imagine that the librarian would be involved with with Cuban-American community, visiting Cuban-American restaurants, festivals, and churches, as well as meeting with Cuban-Americans who hold other positions of authority in the community, such as city and government officials. We imagine that the librarian would feel comfortable referring us to other stakeholders in the community. Finally, we imagine that he/she has faced a book challenge. We imagine that the librarian took great efforts to consider a myriad of viewpoints on the matter and handled the situation with tacit, humility, and diplomacy.
Internal Librarian-to-Librarian Big Talk Imagined Results:
We imagine that the library collection represents the wide variety of Cuban-Americas wants and needs. The collection serves as both recreational and educational. The Fiction section includes works from all three Cuban-American migration movements. The Non-Fiction section has topical books about contemporary Cuban-Americans and has up-to-date reference information resources. The Young Reader department also maintains a mix of fiction and non-fiction, including works in pre-readers, emergent (beginning) readers, readers, and young adult readers. Overall, the collection consists of a mix of books, books on CD, DVDs, and music CDs.
We anticipate that the library would have its own Spanish collection, and that it would be shelved in its own section. We also anticipate that the library would offer ESL classes. In addition, that the librarian would spend time in the Cuban-American communities and promote the library. The library would also promote its Cuban-American collection at town and city festivals, as well as at community organizations such as preschools and elderly daycares. With all of this, we anticipate that Cuban-Americans would respond positively to the outreach.
We also envision that the librarian has conducted a library survey that addresses Cuban-American library wants and needs. In addition, we envision that the librarian would offer computer literary classes and that he/she would have reach out to Cuban-Americans in order to have them speak at the library.
Patron Survey Imagined Results:
We feel that our Cuban-American patrons would express their interest in the further development of the Cuban-American and Latino collection, as well as an interest in the expansion of library services. Patrons might express an interest in the library maintaining a subscription to LATINA magazine or in growing the collection of Contemporary Cuban-American adult and young adult fiction writers, such as Oscar Hijuelos. We feel that they would respond positively to increasing the Spanish language services and that they would embrace programming that highlighted cultural awareness of Cuban culture, such a movie night that featured Bueno Vista Social Club. Finally, we feel as though Cuban-Americans would use the library for both educational and recreational purposes. An increased focus on addressing the wants and need of Cuban-American patrons would intern strength in both the library and the community.
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“This personal Web page (wiki or blog) is not an official University of Rhode Island Web page. The University of Rhode Island provides personal Web pages for faculty, staff, and students as a forum for self-expression. The University does not review personal Web pages and accepts no responsibility for the contents of these pages. The views and opinions expressed on both the Web pages themselves and/or of material accessed via links to other pages are those of the page authors only and are not in any way an official publication of the University.”
Community Survey
In order to become familiar with the community to be served, librarians need to research the demographics so that they are not only reaching out to library users, but also to all the individuals that live in the community. In this way, they are able to promote and provide programs and services that will hopefully draw in new patrons. Demographics may be obtained through the most current census statistics, school information, senior citizen centers, daycare facilities, and any other local organizations that provide services for all ages. Certain organizations, such as nursing homes and other facilities where people are home-bound, afford libraries the opportunity to offer community outreach.
Prior to conducting a community survey, we wanted to learn more about what the library has in place now in terms of instruction, services and programs. We conducted an interview with the librarian addressing the following questions:
We would begin by initiating small talk so that we could get to know each other a bit.
An example of interview/internal librarian to librarian survey for a librarian serving a Cuban American population:
An example of a librarian to patron survey addressing the wants and needs of the Cuban American population:
Imagined Results:
Internal Librarian-to-Librarian Small Talk Imagined Results:
We imagine that the librarian will be within the first ten years of his/her library career. He/She will have both career goals and personal goals that will shape and inform his/her professional career decisions. We also imagine that the librarian would be involved with with Cuban-American community, visiting Cuban-American restaurants, festivals, and churches, as well as meeting with Cuban-Americans who hold other positions of authority in the community, such as city and government officials. We imagine that the librarian would feel comfortable referring us to other stakeholders in the community. Finally, we imagine that he/she has faced a book challenge. We imagine that the librarian took great efforts to consider a myriad of viewpoints on the matter and handled the situation with tacit, humility, and diplomacy.
Internal Librarian-to-Librarian Big Talk Imagined Results:
We imagine that the library collection represents the wide variety of Cuban-Americas wants and needs. The collection serves as both recreational and educational. The Fiction section includes works from all three Cuban-American migration movements. The Non-Fiction section has topical books about contemporary Cuban-Americans and has up-to-date reference information resources. The Young Reader department also maintains a mix of fiction and non-fiction, including works in pre-readers, emergent (beginning) readers, readers, and young adult readers. Overall, the collection consists of a mix of books, books on CD, DVDs, and music CDs.
We anticipate that the library would have its own Spanish collection, and that it would be shelved in its own section. We also anticipate that the library would offer ESL classes. In addition, that the librarian would spend time in the Cuban-American communities and promote the library. The library would also promote its Cuban-American collection at town and city festivals, as well as at community organizations such as preschools and elderly daycares. With all of this, we anticipate that Cuban-Americans would respond positively to the outreach.
We also envision that the librarian has conducted a library survey that addresses Cuban-American library wants and needs. In addition, we envision that the librarian would offer computer literary classes and that he/she would have reach out to Cuban-Americans in order to have them speak at the library.
Patron Survey Imagined Results:
We feel that our Cuban-American patrons would express their interest in the further development of the Cuban-American and Latino collection, as well as an interest in the expansion of library services. Patrons might express an interest in the library maintaining a subscription to LATINA magazine or in growing the collection of Contemporary Cuban-American adult and young adult fiction writers, such as Oscar Hijuelos. We feel that they would respond positively to increasing the Spanish language services and that they would embrace programming that highlighted cultural awareness of Cuban culture, such a movie night that featured Bueno Vista Social Club. Finally, we feel as though Cuban-Americans would use the library for both educational and recreational purposes. An increased focus on addressing the wants and need of Cuban-American patrons would intern strength in both the library and the community.
=====================
“This personal Web page (wiki or blog) is not an official University of Rhode Island Web page. The University of Rhode Island provides personal Web pages for faculty, staff, and students as a forum for self-expression. The University does not review personal Web pages and accepts no responsibility for the contents of these pages. The views and opinions expressed on both the Web pages themselves and/or of material accessed via links to other pages are those of the page authors only and are not in any way an official publication of the University.”